20 September 2019

Dear Parents & Carers,

Now that both “Meet the Team” evenings have taken place, I hope that you feel well informed about the school routines for each individual year group. Do remember though to keep a close eye on the “Just to Let You Know” pages of the website (use the JTLYK tab). It’s where you’ll find really helpful reminders about special events, curriculum, homework and specific news about your child’s week. If English is your additional language, do ask in the office for support in translating if that would help. We have plenty of parents happy to help out. There is also a google translate button on our website home page.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s lovely autumn sunshine – it’s been delightful at playtime, with children on the field at Pewley and in the woods at the juniors having so much fun. I think we’ve all “seen heaven in the moment” outside in the fresh air. With the theme of the week focusing on being still and recognising life’s important priorities, we’ve all found that much simpler out in the open! I hope you all manage some outside relaxation this weekend.

Do take a read of the important notice below about the school prayer group. This is such a vibrant group of parents that meet regularly to pray about our school. They ask God for His continued blessing and protection on all that we seek to do at HTPD, praying for the staff and children that we’d experience what Jesus meant when He said that He’d come to bring life in all its fullness. If you’d like to join them in praying, please take a look.

Next Friday 27th we’ll be encouraging the children to take part in a special mufti day. This isn’t to raise funds on this occasion – instead we’d like to encourage the children to wear something that’s either been handed down by an older brother or sister, or bought second hand from a charity shop or elsewhere. Hopefully this will raise awareness of the importance of recycling. We’re calling the day “Preowned and Proud” and hope to use it to remind children of the importance of looking after the earth’s resources. The staff will be joining in too. I’m looking forward to hearing all the stories of who owned various garments first!

INFANT AND JUNIOR

We would love to invite praying parents across both sites to join us this term praying for our schools. This is a great opportunity to join with other Christians in praying for the students, staff and leadership. Our first meeting will be at Pewley Down on 27 September, meeting in the staff room after drop off at 9am. There will be tea, coffee and cake and we will chat about our plans for the term. If you would like to be added to our WhatsApp group or for more information please email HTPDprayergroup@hotmail.com, or see Gracie Southcombe/Lydia Foster/Claire Haynes.

Holy Trinity ChurchAs HTPD families you are automatically a part of the Holy Trinity Church community. You are all warmly invited, along with your families and friends, to our All-Age service for Harvest Festival on Sunday 29 September, 10am at Holy Trinity Church. Children’s Corner for tinies, craft and activities for children and coffee and cake for all! Any questions contact Pippa at youth@holytrinityguildford.org.uk

INFANT

Phonics Evening Year R, Tuesday 24 September, 7.00pmPlease join us to find out how we will be teaching your children to read and write and how you can support their phonics learning at home. Although primarily intended for parents of Year R children, parents in other year groups are also welcome to attend especially if they are new to the school.

Pre-owned and proud, Friday 27 SeptemberNext Friday we would like children to come to school wearing home clothes – preferably pre-owned (eg belonging to an older sibling, cousin or friend). See Clare’s letter above.

Eco TeamThe Eco Team have had their first meeting and come up with lots of super ideas. The first is for every class to have a light monitor responsible for switching off the lights when everyone leaves the room. Another suggestion is to take more care of the school grounds, and the eco team has decided that they will be picking up litter. Future ideas include re-vamping the eco-house on the field, and finding out what creatures live in the pond.

LostErin in Beech Class has lost her named Shackleton cardigan.
Chloe in Oak Class has lost a pink ‘LOL’ water bottle.

JUNIOR

Dates for your Diary23rd September : RGS Visit Year 5T
27th September : Preowned and Proud Mufti
4th October : Crown Court Service Year 6
8th October : Visit to Marwell Zoo Year 3

School Trips September 2019 Please log into www.parentpay.com the following trips, payment due now: Year 4 Buster Farm 16th September 2019 Year 6 Wisley 20th September 2019 New Year 3’s activation letters were sent home last week- please ensure that you have received the log in details and created your account. This is our preferred method of payment. Thank you.

LostCarlota (3S) has lost 2 new navy Zara cardigans with pearl buttons. Please bring them to the office if you find them. Many Thanks.

Sports & Clubs

Spaces are full for the Year 4 Dodgeball on Thursday with Paul.
Year 3 parents can add their child's name to the list for Dodgeball club after half term, just email Laura S : lauras@htpd.surrey.sch.uk

We hope that 3A and 4N are enjoying their swimming lessons. It was lovely to see so many children wearing swimming hats and goggles. The swimming teachers have pointed out that wearing large baggy board shorts really slows children down in the water and wearing thin swimming trunks makes it much easier for the children to learn how to swim.

If your child is not currently swimming outside of school now is a great time to enrol them in swimming lesson so they consolidate what they are learning in PE time and become confident swimmers.

FOPS News

Welcome back everyone to a new term, and a brand-new year of fundraising for FOPS. We start by thanking everyone who attended our AGM on Wednesday prior to the Meet the Team evening. We were thrilled to have such a positive reception and are looking forward to a fabulous year.

We officially voted in a new committee, who are as follows:
Co-Chairs: Sam Ludlow Taylor and Jo Markwell
Treasurer: Sophie McGill
Secretary: Rachel Okesola

Filled with fresh ideas and enthusiasm we are sure they are going to be fantastic! They will need lots of support from the PD families. Even if it is just 30 minutes here or there it all makes a difference.

Another way to support us is to be a Class Rep. We have heard from a couple of people, but we still need class reps for every class in the school. If you feel you could fill this essential role, please contact Ruth in the office.

The first meeting will be in the next few weeks once those rep roles are filled, every parent is welcome to these meetings so please do keep an eye out for that date.

Match FundingDo you or your partner work at a company that offers match funding? This is a scheme where companies will match money raised at a certain event/stall that you volunteer at. Most large companies offer this and if you are planning on volunteering for events like the disco or Christmas fair we would love to hear from you!

EASYFUNDRAISINGThank-you to those signing up for this! Just remember to click through the website before you make a purchase and continue earning free money for the school. https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/

FOPS notice boardThere are items for sale and notices on the board outside Oak class (next to the ramp downstairs) so do remember to have a look. If you would like to advertise something yourself, cards are in the office with Ruth and Jane (cards are £1 for a month or free if the item is free), so if you have something to sell let us know!

Social Dates for you Diaries: (to follow)

HTSC News

Hi Everyone,

Hope you’ve all had a good week and getting back into the swing of the school routine!

There are a few important dates below but first we’d like to introduce the new HTSC committee for 2019/2020.

We hope that all the new Year 3s are settling in well and welcome to all the new families that are joining us from other infant schools. Our initial priority is to make sure that every class has at least 1 class rep, but 2 is ideal to help spread out the tasks and to give support to each other. If you would like to know more about what it entails, please email helen@thomasday.co.uk.

So far, the below have volunteered to be class reps, however if this is incorrect, please let the office or Helen know on the above email address.

Our first HTSC meeting is on Monday 23rd September from 8pm at Rogues in the conservatory. Everyone is welcome whether you can pop in for 15mins or stay for the whole meeting. We’ll be asking for any new ideas you may have and looking to the first few events that we have booked for this term. If you are unable to come but have an idea or an issue you would like us to discuss, please email helen@thomasday.co.uk by Monday.